Explaining Experiments with Diagrams

Before each Biology 3191 class, the instructors use PowerPoint to create the slides that they will project and annotate on the SMART Board and that students will annotate on the tablet PCs during class. They leave plenty of space on each slide for annotations and notes to be added during class. The instructors use SMART Notebook software to project and annotate the slides. This software also allows them to insert blank slides when they need additional space for notes, diagrams, or flow-charts, as below.

Instructor Flow-Chart

When the students arrive at class, they turn on their tablet PCs, connect to the classroom wireless network, and use the online learning-management system to download the slides via the wireless network. Throughout class, they use the Windows Journal software on their tablet PCs to take notes and annotate the slides. Some students copy exactly what the instructor has written, while others add additional notes, drawings, and annotations. At the end of class, the students save the annotated files in pdf or tif format on a jump-drive.